Claremont McKenna College (CMC) is a coeducational, private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, United States, with a curricular emphasis on economics, finance, international relations, government and public affairs. CMC is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium.

Founded as a men's college in 1946, CMC became coeducational in 1976. Its campus is located 35 miles (56 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles.[5] The college focuses primarily on undergraduate education, but in 2007 it established the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance, which offers a master's program in finance. As of 2016[update], there are 1,344 undergraduate students and postgraduate students.

History

Claremont McKenna College was founded as Claremont Men's College after the end of World War II.[7] Many of its first students were war veterans attending college on the G.I. Bill. CMC was founded with the mission to foster leadership in its students in the fields of government, economics, and international affairs.

The school became coeducational in 1976 and was renamed after Donald McKenna, a founding trustee, in 1981.[8] The name change allowed the college to keep its popular acronym, "CMC". The college's motto is "Crescit cum commercio civitas", or "Civilization prospers with commerce".

On the evening of March 9, 2004, visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Kerri Dunn reported that her car had been vandalized and painted with racist, sexist and anti-semitic slurs. In response, there was a series of demonstrations, candlelight vigils and community meetings. The investigation by the City of Claremont's police department and the FBI revealed that Dunn had slashed her own tires and applied the insulting phrases to her own vehicle. She was found guilty of filing a false police report and attempted insurance fraud. She was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay a fine of approximately $19,000 in restitution.[9][10]

On September 27, 2007, the college announced a $200 million gift from alumnus and trustee Robert Addison Day to create the "Robert Day Scholars Program" and a master's program in finance.[11] CMC literature professor Robert Faggen sent a letter signed by several other literature professors to CMC president Pamela Gann, saying they were concerned that the gift will "distort the college into a single focus trade school."[12]

On January 30, 2012, President Gann revealed that a "high-ranking admissions official," later identified as the school's former dean of admissions, Richard C. Vos,[13] had been inflating SAT scores reported to the U.S. News & World Report by 10-20 points over the previous six years.[14][15] A 2013 Time article opined that "such a small differential could not have significantly affected U.S. News & World Report rankings".[16] A report commissioned by the college claimed to have found no evidence that these misrepresentations were made to inflate the school's rankings.[17] The controversy prompted Forbes to omit CMC from its annual rankings in 2013.[18]

On April 6, 2017, a group of approximately 300 student protesters (most of whom attended the other Claremont Colleges) blockaded the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum in an attempt to shut down a speech by conservative pundit Heather Mac Donald.[21][22] The college livestreamed the talk, as audiences were unable to enter the building. The college disciplined seven of its students who participated in the blockade, including suspending two for a semester and three for a full year.[23][24]

Organization and administration

CMC is chartered as a private, non-profit organization and is a member of the seven-institution Claremont Colleges consortium. Students can take classes at any of the member colleges, and the colleges share libraries, student health, a bookstore, athletic facilities, and various student services.[25] The privately appointed, 40-voting-member board of trustees elects a president to serve as chief executive officer of the college.[1][26]Hiram Chodosh is CMC's fifth president. The president has an executive cabinet of 9 vice presidents, including a VP of Students Affairs and VP of Academic Affairs.[27]

Academics

Ranking

In 2018, Forbes ranked Claremont McKenna as the 26th-best college in the nation and the 7th-best liberal arts college.[28]U.S. News & World Report's 2018 rankings rated Claremont McKenna for 9th-best liberal arts college in the nation.[29]Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education US College Rankings 2019 ranked Claremont Mckenna as the 6th-best liberal arts college and 33rd-best college in the nation.[30] Claremont McKenna is the 10th-most selective college in the nation according to collegesimply.[31] Claremont McKenna is ranked 30th nationally in “Best Universities and Colleges by Salary Potential” by Payscale.[32]

Financial aid

Tuition for the 2018–2019 school year is $54,160 ($27,080 per semester) for a full-time student, and room and board is on average $15,930 ($7,965 per semester for double room and 12 meals per week), for a total annual cost of attendance of $70,212.50 with other expected costs included.[40] CMC admits students on a need-blind basis and guarantees to meet the financial need of all its students as determined by the FAFSA and the College Board's CSS Profile.[41] For the 2016–2017 year, CMC awarded a total of $27,021,024 in financial aid. 38.9% of students received need-based financial aid with an average total grant aid package of $42,445, while 5.8% of students received merit aid, with an average award of $15,744.[35]

The college, which operates on a semester system, has 12 academic departments, 11 research institutes and 33 on-campus majors, the most popular of which are economics, government, psychology, economics-accounting and international relations.[5] However, as a member of the Claremont Colleges, students at CMC also have the option to study any major that is not offered at CMC given that one of the other colleges has such a major. A popular example is computer science, which is offered by both Harvey Mudd College and Pomona College. The student to faculty ratio is 8:1 with an average class size of 18. 85% of the classes have fewer than 19 students. The six-year graduation rate is 93.3%, and the freshman retention rate is 92.7%.[35]

Curriculum

About one third of the classes students complete are general education requirements. These include a humanities seminar and a writing seminar their first year, three semesters of a foreign language or demonstrated proficiency, a mathematics or computer science course, one laboratory science course and three semesters of a P.E. course or two seasons on a sports team. In addition, students must complete at least two humanities courses and three social science courses, all in areas outside the student's major. All students must complete a senior thesis, which can be either one-semester in length or, to receive departmental honors, two semesters. Claremont McKenna's curricular emphasis is on its social sciences, particularly economics, government, international relations, and psychology. CMC also offers an Oxford-style tutorial Philosophy, Politics, and Economics major with two separate tracks of 14 students each. Other multi-disciplinary majors include management engineering, philosophy and public affairs, science and management, econ-accounting, biology-chemistry, and environment, economics, and politics (EEP). CMC also offers the Robert A. Day 4+1 BA/MBA, in which students receive both their BA from Claremont McKenna and their MBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in 5 years.

CMC's science program is currently offered through the Keck Science Department of Claremont McKenna, Pitzer and Scripps Colleges. The Keck Science Department offers a double year-long introductory science class to allow more flexibility than the former 3 year-long introductory biology, chemistry and physics courses that most science majors must complete. In October 2018, CMC announced that it plans to withdraw from Keck to create its own science department.[42]

Many CMC students study abroad or participate in one of two domestic programs, one in Washington, D.C. and the other in the Silicon Valley. In both of these programs, students complete a full-time internship with a business or government department, remaining full-time students taught at night by CMC professors stationed in the two locations".[43]

More than 75% percent of students attend graduate school within five years of graduation, and those who choose to go straight to the workforce average a starting salary of $57,156 for the class of 2014, with average signing bonuses averaging $7,905.[44] Of those CMC graduates applying to medical school, 80% get into their first or second choice institutions.[45]

Housing

As a residential community, student life is centered on campus with 94% of students living at the College and four years of housing is guaranteed.[46] Claremont's dorms are divided into three regions: North Quad, Mid Quad, and South Quad. In addition, the student apartments sit on the East edge of campus, and are occupied primarily by seniors. All dorm rooms are attended to by housekeeping staff every week. North Quad is made up of Appleby, Boswell, Green and Wohlford Halls, which were the campus's first dorms. In north quad, every room opens to the outdoors instead of opening to an interior hallway. North quad rooms are all doubles grouped into suites of four rooms that share a bathroom.

CMC's Mid Quad is home to Beckett, Berger, Benson, Phillips, Crown, Marks and Claremont Halls, which feature long interior corridors, double and single rooms, large shared-bathroom facilities and all-dorm lounge areas.[46] Berger, Claremont and Benson Halls are connected, and make up a larger building known on campus as BCB.

The tallest buildings in Claremont are "The Towers", Auen, Fawcett, and Stark Halls, which make up South Quad. Each tower has seven floors with approximately twelve students per floor. Each floor has a common area and a large shared bathroom, while there is also an all-dorm lounge area on the ground floor. Stark Hall, the newest of the South Quad dorms, is substance-free. Auen and Fawcett underwent complete interior renovations in the summer of 2008.

Crown Hall

The Student Apartments lie to the east of the college's athletic facilities and to the west of Claremont Boulevard. Each apartment is divided into four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Until recently, half the apartments were reserved for men and half for women, and apartments were allotted based on credits. In any given year, most of CMC's 260–300 seniors can live in the apartments.[46]

Living in the apartments is considered highly desirable amongst CMC's senior class. Seniors get the chance to live with three friends of their choice, and they also have the option to stay on a meal plan and eat at one of the 5-C dining halls, or cook for themselves. Apartment dwellers do not get the maid service of the dorms, but they do get a cable television hookup. Noise levels are more manageable, and tend to be quiet during much of the week and in the days leading up to thesis, and loud from Thursday to Saturday. Most parties and social events at the apartments take place between buildings.

Student journalism

Towers at South Quad

CMC attracts many students with an interest in journalism. Its student publications include the following:

The Student Life: The Student Life (abbreviated TSL) was founded in 1889. It is the oldest college paper in Southern California and the largest media organization at the Claremont Colleges, and is generally regarded as the colleges' publication of record. It prints weekly on Fridays, featuring news, opinions, lifestyle articles, and sports coverage of all five undergraduate Claremont Colleges. It is jointly funded by the 5C student governments.

The CMC Forum: The Forum is the oldest CMC-specific publication on campus. It features campus news, opinions, and lifestyle articles. Although originally a newspaper, the Forum is now solely an online news source.[47]

The Claremont Independent: The Independent, founded in 1996, is a magazine of conservative and libertarian writers has frequently produced stories about the political culture of the Claremont Colleges that have been picked up by national conservative media outlets and drawn intense criticism from many students.[48][49][50] It is funded entirely through private donations.

The Claremont Radius: The Claremont Radius is a student-founded, student-run, and student-intended online publication that aims to spark political discourse across campus by providing students of all political backgrounds the tools they need for effective debate and discussion on the big issues affecting our society. Founded in 2015, it seeks to provide bi-partisan coverage on issues it discusses.[51]

The Golden Antlers: The Golden Antlers is a satirical and humorous campus publication founded in 2012. Although Claremont McKenna is its host, it is staffed by students from all five Claremont Colleges.[52]

Rivals

Traditions

All incoming freshmen participate in W.O.A!, or "Welcome Orientation Adventure" W.O.A! is a student-run pre-orientation program. Options have included backpacking, camping and rock-climbing at Yosemite, canoeing down the Colorado River and community service in Los Angeles. Each trip is led by current students. W.O.A.! allows incoming students to develop friendships and get a sense for the college community before the formal beginning of their college careers.

The "Madrigal Feast" was an annual dinner held in the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum. Both current students as well as alumni typically attended. Guests were treated to a medieval-themed feast, complete with wassail and a spirited musical performance put on by other students in medieval dress. This 26 year tradition was suspended in 2009.[58]

Several of Claremont McKenna College's traditions are water-related:

At noon on the due dates of senior theses, the students turn in their theses to the registrar, after which they are given a bottle of champagne by the registrar. In recent years, the class president has provided the champagne. The students spend the remainder of the afternoon in the fountains at the school, drinking, singing, celebrating and enjoying the warm California sun.[59]

At midnight of a student's birthday, their friends will throw them in the fountains in the center of campus while singing Happy Birthday, a tradition known as 'ponding' [60]

The Consortium

All seven colleges are part of the Claremont University Consortium, also known as "the 7-Cs". Together the campuses cover over 300 acres (120 ha) and enroll over 6,000 students. In addition there are over 3,500 faculty and staff and more than 2,500 courses available.

Garrison Theater

Student life revolves around the colleges as they interact socially and also share seven dining halls, four main libraries and other facilities spread throughout the campuses. Notable facilities include:

Honnold/Mudd Library and the Libraries of the Claremont Colleges, the largest collection of any liberal arts college[61]

Bridges Auditorium and Concert Hall

Scripps Performing Arts Center and Seaver Theater Complex

W.M. Keck Science Center

Monsour Counseling Center

Huntley Bookstore

Students attending Claremont McKenna can enroll in up to 2/3 of their classes at the other undergraduate colleges and can also major at any of the other colleges if the major is not offered at CMC. This is the general academic policy at the schools and is meant to give students the resources of a larger university while still maintaining the qualities of a small, liberal-arts college.

Research institutes

CMC sponsors eleven different on-campus research institutes and centers. They seek to produce new research and publications while involving undergraduate students in rigorous academic work.

The Salvatori Center for the Study of Individual Freedom in the Modern World [62]

The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Fundraising

Claremont McKenna completed the largest fundraising campaign ever initiated by a liberal arts college, raising $635 million.[63] The campaign for Claremont McKenna fulfilled for commitments in five priorities:

$110 million for students: need-based financial aid and merit scholarships, internships, research, speaker series and other experiences

$110 million for faculty: chairs, research and new curricula

$100 million for facilities: new buildings, renovations and master planning projects

As part of the campaign, the college built the Kravis Center, an academic building that includes classrooms, faculty offices and research areas. The building, designed by Rafael Viñoly, was completed in 2011. It is named after 1967 alumnus Henry Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts who donated $75 million for the building.[66]